Hidalgo, Let The Right One In, Requiem for a Dream

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#1 - HIDALGO

Stars - Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, Omar Sharif, a ton of horses

Director - Joe Johnston

Memorable Quote - 'Mister... you can say anything you want about me. I'm gonna have to ask you not to talk about my horse that way.'

Review - Hidalgo is something of a strange film, if you're trying to categorise it. It's not really an adventure film, since all the mishaps that occur are mostly skipped through quickly in favour of character-driven plot. It's not really about the race, either, until he reaches the finish line. It's not really about the horse/man bond, since he sets all the horses free at the end instead of reinforcing the point that his horse is all he needs. Not sure how he was planning on making a living any more either, but whatever. I suppose in a strange way it's a coming of age film; the story of a man who, despite his age, has not yet truly accepted himself and his own background, choosing to hide from it instead. It's not the best film you'll see but there are a lot of beautiful horses, and a few select cultural tidbits that don't really go far enough to be worthwhile. It feels like a rushed version of a more complex story, which it probably is, and is generally just far too safe to have much of an impact. Point in case, I actually watched this before Christmas and only just remembered to review it. 3/5

#2 - LAT DEN RATTE KOMMA IN (Let the Right One in)

Stars - Lina Leandersson, Kåre Hedebrant, Per Ragnar, Patrik Rydmark

Director - Tomas Alfredson

Memorable Quote - 'Eli... Are you a vampire?'

Review - Ahh, what a movie! I do love it when the hype is justified. Everyone in this film must have been selected very carefully, since they're perfect for their roles, from the bully and his even tougher older brother through to Oskar's father and his friend. The story itself is quite touching; a somewhat naive, seemingly attention-starved twelve year old shines when someone his own age finally gives him the time of day rather than trying to push him into holes in the ice. The message this gave across, I feel, was not about vampires or death or any of the rest of it; it was about friendship and loyalty, and how we can overlook one another's flaws when we enjoy each others' company enough. There have been many debates about the film, such as what Eli's gender is (clearly male), but there is nothing too difficult to understand here if you watch carefully enough. There is something beautiful about the overall tone of the film, added to immensely by the snow, and by the strange calm that Oskar seems to demonstrate whenever he is confronted. Outwardly his eyes are closed stoically, but inwardly we know there must be something under the surface. My least favourite part was probably the cat attack scene, which spoiled things a little with how obvious the cgi was, but most of the other effects looked great - Hakan's acid burns in particular. Definitely worth watching, particularly since the remake has come out; something I haven't seen and don't intend to, for at least a while. I don't really see why they had to bother making a new one when this version was almost perfect already. 4.5/5

#3 - REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

Stars - Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Ellen Burstyn, Marlon Wayans

Director - Darren Aronofsky

Memorable Quote - 'Somebody like you can really make things all right for me.'

Review - Christ. Right, first off, I would like to say that out of everyone who recommended this film to me, not one person mentioned how depressing it is. Not one. In order to address this problem for future viewers, I issue this warning: you will actually want to die about twenty minutes before the end, and it gets worse. Seriously, it's so goddamn harrowing. Literally no one has a happy ending. For most of it I was feeling all happy about how Leto and Connelly made a good-looking couple and they were going to set up a business and he was going to visit his mum and everything, and then without a warning suddenly everyone's in hell or something. I was not prepared for that. The good news is, though, that if you're ever thinking about doing drugs, this will put you right off. On the other hand, it may also put you off television and prescribed medicine, but, y'know, every cloud. I think the most distressing part of it was a) the mother's heartfelt speech when Harry finally came to visit her, and b) the fact that the police wouldn't let him go to hospital. I'm not sure I believe that would actually happen, but it was pretty horrible. The filming was very good, with the tiny clips to represent a whole process each time, and the way it got overwhelming during pivotal moments was very well done, though it was a little cheesy to have them all roll onto their sides at the end. Also, I may be wrong, but Harry's dream sequences reminded me too much of 'La Jetee' for it to seem like a coincidence. A very well done film, to be fair, just not that enjoyable because of the content. 3.5/5